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The Caçadores (hunters) were the elite
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
troops of the
Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With it ...
, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Units of ''Caçadores'' – with features somewhat different from the original ones – continued to exist in the
Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air F ...
until the 1970s, namely the Caçadores Especiais (special hunters) – several
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and eq ...
companies of the Portuguese Army created by the
Special Operations Troops Centre , image = CTOE unit crest.png , image_size = , caption = CTOE coat of arms , nickname = ''Rangers'' , motto = la, Que os muitos p ...
at the beginning of the 1960s and heavily employed throughout the
Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
(1961-1974) in Africa.


Etymology

''Caçadores'' is the
plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This ...
of ''caçador'', the Portuguese word for "
hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
". It has also been used to designate each one of the elite light infantry soldiers of the Portuguese Army. As such it is a direct equivalent of the German military term '' Jäger'' and the French military term ''
chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army or ...
''. It may also be considered comparable to the English language term ''ranger''.


Origins

The origins of the ''Caçadores'' can be found in several light infantry units created in the Portuguese Army during the 18th century, such as the Royal Volunteers Regiment and the Light Troops Legion. After the War of the Pyrenees in 1797, a company of ''Caçadores'' was created in each Portuguese infantry regiment.


Peninsular War and 19th century

In 1808 the Portuguese government realised the necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief capable of training, equipping and disciplining the demoralised Portuguese Army, which had not performed well against the French invaders. After the expulsion of General Junot's army from Portugal,
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
General William Beresford was recommended by Arthur Wellesley for the role and was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army on 7 March 1809. As part of Beresford's reforms, Portuguese War secretary Miguel Pereira Forjaz proposed the creation of independent battalions of ''Caçadores'' and six were created. Later in the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...
, additional battalions and other units of ''Caçadores'' were formed due to the success of the original six battalions. Each battalion came to include a special ''Atiradores'' (sharpshooters) company armed with rifles in place of the muskets of ordinary infantry. In the
Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the ''Ex� ...
, some ''Caçadores'' units were integrated into the elite
Light Division The Light Division was a light infantry division of the British Army. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These ...
; brigaded with the British units of the
95th Rifles The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...
. One of the most distinctive features of the ''Caçadores'' was their brown uniform, in contrast to the dark blue worn by the bulk of the Portuguese Army of that period. Surviving examples of this clothing show it to have been of a dark
maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...
shade. The brown uniform served as an early form of
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
, considered better suited for the dry lands of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
than the traditional green uniforms used by the rifle and jager regiments of the British and various German armies. During the Peninsular War, ''Caçadores'' became especially notable in the performance of
marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-th ...
at long distances. Arthur Wellesley referred the Portuguese ''Caçadores'' as the "
fighting cock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
s" of his Anglo-Portuguese Army. The battalions and later regiments of ''Caçadores'' continued to constitute the light infantry of the Portuguese Army during the rest of the 19th century. However, with the advent of new firearms technologies and new infantry tactics, the differences between the ''Caçadores'' and the line infantry steadily decreased. Because of this, in the reorganization of the Portuguese Army of 1911, the decision was taken to disband the ''Caçadores'' units and to transform them into line infantry regiments.


20th century

In the 20th century, several types of units named ''Caçadores'' were created or recreated in the Portuguese Armed Forces, namely: # ''Caçadores'' battalions – recreated, in the Portuguese Army reorganization of 1926, as border defense units, kept in a high state of readiness. They were designed to defend the border against an enemy attack, for the time necessary to mobilize the line infantry units; # ''Caçadores'' (Overseas) – the title "''Caçadores''" was also given, in the 1930s, to the light infantry battalions and independent companies responsible for the garrison of the Portuguese overseas territories. There were units of this type mobilized both in metropolitan Portugal and locally in each overseas territory, providing the majority of units employed by the Portuguese Army in the
Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
; # ''Caçadores Especiais'' (special hunters) – several
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and eq ...
companies of the Portuguese Army created by the
Special Operations Troops Centre , image = CTOE unit crest.png , image_size = , caption = CTOE coat of arms , nickname = ''Rangers'' , motto = la, Que os muitos p ...
at the beginning of the 1960s. These units, made up of both African and white troops, wore a brown beret in the colour of the uniforms of the Caçadores of the Peninsular War. Later the Caçadores Especiais were abolished and the brown beret was adopted by most of the units of the Portuguese Army. The distinctive dark brown uniforms worn by Caçadore regiments prior to 1911 survive as the modern full dress of the
Colégio Militar ''Colégio Militar'' (Portuguese for "Military College") is a military secondary school in Lisbon, Portugal. It was founded by Marechal António Teixeira Rebello in 1803. History Its initial location was S. Julião da Barra Fort, in Oeiras. It ...
(Military Academy) in Lisbon; # ''Caçadores Paraquedistas'' (parachutist hunters) – a paratrooper battalion (later regiment) formed by the
Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...
, in the 1950s. Later, battalions of ''Caçadores Paraquedistas'' were also created in
Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mal ...
and
Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...
. The ''Caçadores'' (Overseas), ''Caçadores Especiais'' and ''Caçadores Paraquedistas'' were deeply involved in the Portuguese African Wars, from 1961 to 1975. In 1975 the title "''Caçadores''" was discontinued in the Portuguese Armed Forces. All existing units of ''Caçadores'' were disbanded or reclassified as ordinary line infantry. The 5th ''Caçadores'' Battalion continued to exist as an administrative unit until 1988, with the role of winding-up the disbanded military regions and territorial commands of the former Overseas forces.


References

*Chartrand, René, Coelho, Sérgio Veloso, ''A Infantaria Ligeira da Guerra Peninsular'', Almeida: Câmara Municipal de Almeida, 2006 *Martelo, David, ''Os Caçadores – Os Galos de Combate do Exército de Wellington'', Lisbon: Tribuna da História, 2007 *Von Pivka, Otto, Roffe, Michael, ''The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars (Men-at-Arms)'', Osprey {{DEFAULTSORT:Cacadores Military units and formations established in 1797 Military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Military units and formations of the Peninsular War Portuguese Army Peninsular War Special forces of Portugal pt:Caçador (militar)